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With the new FTC rules I want to be clear on any sort of compensation I may receive through blogging. Occasionally I may receive small fees through affiliate plans, payment for articles I have written or sell the supplies I discuss.

This is nothing new, isn't a whole lot... and a small facet of how I make my living as an artist. I have never, and will never promote products I don't believe in.

“Art does not reproduce the visible; it makes things visible.”
~ Paul Klee

Ever sign up for a swap, only to initially look it over..
and wonderwhat exactly you were thinking?You dreadfully start working on it..
expecting to find it tedious..
can’t wait for it to end..
only to find that ..

Surprise!! You LOVE it!

The creating process begins..
and before you know it, hours have passed..
and your inner inspiration genie has received a new life!

Well, that’s exactly what this swap has done to me.. once I saw just how tiny 1″ was.. I groaned, that is, until I began creating these darling pieces .. an addiction has been born! I’ve always love miniature anything, these are no exception.

“An inch in a man’s nose is much.”
~H. G. Bohn

Here’s the scoop .. the swap is through Altered Art Obsession .. hosted by the ingenious TisJewel.. to create 100 ( yes, 100) Original, one of a kind .. 1″ by 1″ collaged squares.. they must be mixed media, each must contain one picture, and at least one word.. Whatcha think about that? Once she swaps ’em out, we will receive 100 squares back, and complete it by creating an accordion book, a 10″ x 10″ piece..or any other creative way to use them, keeping them all in tact and together.

“Art means to dare—and to have been right.”~ Ned Rorem

All of mine were created on 140lb watercolor paper, with hand painted backgrounds and have inked edges (as i’ve said many a time before a must for a finished look!).. I have all 100 cut, all contain images .. and now I’m in the process of adding embellishments, whimsical hand drawn elements, text, shadows and more.. I’m actually finishing these early for once – as I want them done before my upcoming surgery.

“No matter how substandard you feel your skill or talent may be, If you never produce your art, the world will always remain deprived of it.” ~ Derek R. Audette

Here’s a sneak peek at the first 20 I have completed .. I’ll continue sharing them in batches, as I complete them..

So whatcha think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on them! I’m also open to suggestions, on how to arrange them once I receive them!

Oh these are gorgeous. I see a new obsession coming on. LOL One of my favorite ways to see small square works of art displayed is as a large work of art; a mosaic! That was my first thought when I started reading this post. :) Oh I love them and now I just have to try it.

Wow how fun! These are all so fabulous! I have seen someone do these and wonder how in the world you keep from going cross eyed after doing these lol That would be a major challenge for me to work that small…I have a difficult time working with just atc size lol….is it easier than it looks? I will check out the site! It does look like fun!

oh my gosh! I feel exactly the same as you. I’ve only gotten about 22 done so far. It’s tedious but addicting!! come by my blog and see the five I posted. I didn’t want to put up too many but now that you have maybe i will. hee-hee. By the way…I love, love the one with the ruler tongue sticking out. hope I get that one!!

Wow.. what a HUGE redponse to this! Thanks SO much for your encouragement, i finished another batch last night, and will upload them after i get some other stuff caught up!

As for all your questions —

I think I may host a swap similar to this, through my blog.. it’ll be at least a few days, while i set up an info page, and sign- ups..

For those interested in the AAO group — I have it linked in my entry, follow that, and find where it has info to join.. and follow as directed :-)It’s a fabulous group!

Andrea — I Had thought of a tin, but folding an accordion book into it..so it popped out when you opened it :-) I’ve also been pondering some sort of mobile.. or a mosaic arrangement on canvas… so many ideas..

Nanc — it’s not easy, but it’s fun.. It’s not as hard as i thought it’d be either, i actually find it easier to do a bunch at once, then one at a time.. i did it in steps.. I’ll elaborate ont he next batch i post!

Whoo hoo, wow, I didn’t expect that this project would take so much notice! Awesome job Chrysti!

For anyone who wants to join AAO, when you go to the yahoo group home page and request to join, you’ll get a questionnaire (it looks daunting, but don’t let it scare you – if you don’t get it let me know). Send that along with artwork examples (if attachments you’ll need to send to me directly as yahoo will delete them), then the review process takes about 1-7 days (on average about 2-3).

Chrysti – these are absolutely beautiful! Love all the color and can’t believe all the additions you were able squeeze onto these little squares….and without making them look the tiniest bit squeezed! (NOW I know how I should have done those little guys when I was in a MUCH smaller swap!!)
Hugs,
Margie

I want to play, can’t wait for you to post the swap. Where and when will I find it?? I have trouble cutting with the shape my hands are in, anyone know where to buy the 1 inch squares precut???
Let me know
Love and Hugs
Vic

[…] I don’t remember how I stumbled across this second link (probably the mixed media forum at WetCanvas, but who knows?), but it’s an art blog post about a really interesting idea: 1″ square collages. Granted, it would probably be a dangerous undertaking for me, given my historic inability to fill an entire sheet of paper with a drawing, but what can I say? I really like working small. […]

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